Warning: contains spoilers for Venom #9
Marvel Comics finally explained how Kang the Conqueror's time-travel powers actually work. While he does not possess any real superhuman abilities, Kang always displayed a mastery of time that goes beyond simply having access to the most advanced technology. Thanks to a newfound partnership with Eddie Brock, aka Venom, Kang had the chance to explain just what it takes to be a true master of time.
Kang made his debut as an iconic foe of the Avengers, but his actual origins are a bit convoluted. The Conqueror started out as Nathaniel Richards, a descendant of Fantastic Four's Reed Richards. He was born in the 30th century, when the world was in a constant state of peace and prosperity. Sickened by his contemporaries' lack of stimuli and challenges, Nathaniel found a time machine and used it first to travel back to ancient Egypt, where he set himself up as a Pharaoh Rama-Tut before being ousted by the Fantastic Four, and then to the war-thorn 40th century, which he conquered, finally becoming Kang. From there, he began to expand his conquest throughout history, frequently taking other identities such as Immortus, and developing a fixation for the Age of Heroes and the Avengers.
Compared to his future self Immortus, Kang never cared much about respecting the balance of the time flow and not altering timelines. However, in Venom #9, by Al Ewing, Bryan Hitch, and Alex Sinclair, the Conqueror reveals that actually altering the past or the future requires a great deal of skill and mastery of precise rules. Due to Venom's new abilities as the King in Black, Eddie Brock has become "lost in the timestream," unable to remain in one moment for too long. Kang teaches him about the structure of time, and that only mastery of very advanced techniques can change what has already been established. An amateur like Eddie can only "plan further routes on what's already been mapped," and play with the cards that have already been dealt.
Kang's lesson is very important to understand the full scope of his abilities. Until very recently, the character had always been presented as a somewhat careless time traveler, who had no qualms about altering the past or the future. However, this did not explain how, over the centuries, Kang managed to become an even bigger threat than Thanos, just because he possesses a technology that many other characters in the Marvel Universe (such as Doctor Doom) have access to. Now, it's clear that Kang does not just have the means to travel in time, he can actually alter it, changing what has already been established, something that requires a lot more than a time machine to do.
This revelation explains why Kang is one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe. Rather than create new "branching timelines", his actions are capable of actually altering the flow of events. This is a skill that Kang acquired after centuries of practice, study, and experimentation, and puts him above and beyond the majority of time travelers. By finally explaining how Kang the Conqueror's time-traveling abilities actually work, Marvel established why he is one of the most dangerous characters in the entire Multiverse.
Venom #9 is available now from Marvel Comics.